


I Love to Bug You

by copyrightings



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Idiots in Love, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Toothache sweet, man these kids need to learn how to talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 16:10:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13978758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copyrightings/pseuds/copyrightings
Summary: In a foreign planet on a dangerous mission, Lance is bitten by a bug that amplifies his feelings of love for the first person he sees. Keith is unfortunately the recipient of these feelings but things don’t go exactly according to plan.





	I Love to Bug You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so I know these love bug fics are waaayyyy out of style but I wrote this ages ago and never got around to posting it. So here it is! My take on an adorable Klance lovebug au.

Keith didn’t know how his day could get any worse. 

His morning had started with the castle’s blaring alarm system jerking him out of some much needed sleep, followed by a tense, impromptu mission to save a nearby planet that turned out to be heavily invaded by Galra instead of the single base Coran had described to them hastily in their rushed daily briefing. Then there was the fact that he was paired up with Lance of all people to carry out their end of the job-- they basically had to serve as bait while Pidge and Hunk hacked into their main systems as Allura and Shiro defended from outside-- and all Lance could do was talk. His nervous words just kept flowing out of his mouth, and despite some harsher-than-intended comments to keep it down, Lance just continued to talk, speaking about everything between his life at home on Earth to the dream he had last night. And it just so happened to be his big mouth that landed them running for their lives into a foreign forest in order to escape the centurions chasing after them. 

So yeah, Keith’s day wasn’t exactly the best.

Lance dashed around a tree, nearly tripping over a pile of logs that blocked the pathway. Keith noticed the mistake and skirted around it, catching up to him in no time. Lance let out a huff and pushed himself further, leading them into a dark cave, illuminated only by the streaming daylight coming down in patches from the top of the forest. 

They ducked around a corner, sliding down a wall to catch their breath. Keith breathed in heavily, hoping that they were safe for the moment, knowing in reality this was their only reprieve from the action for the day. 

“What is wrong with you?” Keith couldn’t help but scream. “Why can’t you stop talking?”

Lance furrowed his brows. “Well maybe I would stop talking if you would actually reply to me sometime instead of just giving me a scowl and ignoring everything I say!”

Ouch. Keith had to give him that one. Truth is, he loved to hear Lance talk at the castle. His voice was like a streaming river, ebbing softly and never ceasing, always flowing when and wherever he wanted. It was lovely when Keith needed a distraction from the pressing responsibilities of saving the universe, but when he was actually attempting said job, it was the last thing Keith needed. 

However, Lance didn’t need to know that. So Keith gave him a gruff apology and checked the opening of the cave for any incoming enemies. All he could see was luscious greenery and the distant sounds of alien animals littered throughout the forest. He figured it was much safer to explore the planet rather than loom in a cave where god-knows-what resided. 

“Come on,” Keith motioned, arming himself with his bayard. Lance followed suit, and together they ravaged their way back to the base. 

If Keith was able to pause for a moment, he would have fallen in love with the planet Albern. Minus the Galran bases crudely built in what seemed to be in the middle of the local life, the environment was thriving with overgrown plants and bugs, vibrant colors seeming to radiate from everything living there. The few residents they had met were strong and large, towering over the Paladins with bright smiles due to their arrival. They, like the rest of the galaxy, were overjoyed at the hope of Galran extinction. Keith wanted to make their people proud and protect everything on their planet; he was just beginning to fall in love with it all when his loose trains of thought were brought back to reality with a loud smack. 

Keith turned quickly to see Lance removing his hand from his neck, a purple goo dripping from his fingers along with the remains of a once-large bug. 

“What the quiznak was that?” Keith questioned.

“I think something bit me,” Lance said in astonishment. He began to poke at the wound, wincing in pain. “How bad is it?”

He lengthened his neck, revealing a large bite swelling as the moments passed. It had punctured through his suit, leaving a gap where the wires allowing him to communicate should have been. Through the hole, Keith observed the infection spreading along Lance’s skin, turning his veins purple and running through his system. 

“Very,” Keith stated flatly. He scanned the forest for the best escape route, but they were frankly as lost as ever. “Okay, let’s get you back to the castle. We’ll get you in a pod and hope that whatever stinged you or whatever isn’t too poisonous.”

Keith faced Lance again, their eyes locking. Lance’s irises had turned a brilliant purple, practically glowing from what Keith could only assume was the bug’s venom. 

“What?” Lance asked. “You’re looking at me like I’m an alien or something.”

Keith nodded, “yeah because your eyes are fucking purple.” 

Said beautifully violet eyes widened, while Lance spent a few seconds trying to wrap his mind around a sudden transformation that he couldn’t see. He even tried to find something reflective that see himself but with no luck. He eventually pouted his lips and sat cross-legged, muttering something about how he wasn’t emo. 

Static filled Keith’s helmet, a distant voice coming in. “Keith, Lance, do you copy?” It was Shiro.

“We copy,” Keith replied, unable to rip his sight away from Lance.

Lance raised an eyebrow, but kept his position.

“Where are you?”

Keith let a breath. “We were chased into the forest and are lost, but Lance is injured… sort of.”

“What happened?.” It was Allura this time. “Can you describe the conditions?”

“He got bit by a bug or something, and then it got into his system and turned his eyes purple.”

His reply was a distant chatter before an unfamiliar voice filled his ears. “Red Paladin, I am Wasti. I am Albernian. I believe your Blue Paladin was bitten by an Amorant.”

“What is that?” Keith asked, a strange sense of fear rising in his chest. 

“A common bug on Albern. Not poisonous. Nothing to worry.” 

Keith released a breath. “Well is there anything I have to do to treat it? Is there a cure or something I need to find?” 

Wasti let out a hearty laugh. “There is no cure because there is no lasting effects. The Blue Paladin will simply have heightened emotions of the first person he saw, which I am assuming is you.”

By now Lance had the courtesy to poke his head up and try to listen into Keith’s headset with little success. “... Please tell me the emotion isn’t stubbornness,” Keith commented, Lance sticking his tongue out in return. 

“The emotions are more of a… how you humans say… loving manner. Sexual desire and romanticism is most common and from what the other Paladins have informed me, the Blue Paladin already has strong connections to those emotions, meaning his understanding will be even deeper and will come to mature very quickly.”

The blood rushed out of Keith’s face. 

“What are they saying?” Lance whined. Keith literally and physically could not move.

Lance was going to act all flirtatious and romantic. It was nothing new for him, but now it was turned towards Keith. A devilish heat rose to his cheeks just thinking of Lance laying down a line like, girl, you’ve already turned on my particle barrier.

Keith shook his head furiously. This could not be happening right now. His day could literally not get any worse from here. 

Lance rolled his eyes and tried to link up, but his shattered wires left him unconnected from everything. He dared to lean in from Keith’s headset but before Keith could blush underneath his helmet he pushed him away cautiously. 

“Wait,” he warned Lance, his voice almost cracking. 

Wasti came over the comm again, this time his voice filled with laughter as the other Paladins were with him, probably relishing in the situation.

“I send my people’s luck towards you, Red Paladin.”

“But what do I do? How do I solve this?” Keith asked frantically. 

Wasti let out what sounded like a snort. “There is nothing you can do to help him seeing as you are the one affected most by the infected. Stay in your current position. Aid is coming.” 

Shiro tried to hold back his laugh, but failed very hard. “We’re on our way Keith. Stick tight.”

And with that, the voices cut off, leaving Keith and Lance all alone.

Lance blinked rapidly. “What’s going on? You’re acting really strange right now. Is it serious am I going to die?”

“Y-you’re…” Keith cleared his voice, trying to push down his insecurities. “You’re going to be fine. They said the infection wasn’t deadly and they’re on their way.”

Lance gave him a shrug, and simply returned back to his ever-present talking. Keith tried his best to reply without his voice cracking, but Lance’s vibrant personality seemed to consume the entire planet and there simply wasn’t any room for Keith to respond in the first place. 

Keith kept on waiting, expecting Lance’s personality to change at any moment. To see his purple eyes be filled with hearts as he desperately tried to latch onto him or worse… actually kiss him. 

Keith was scared to death of it going beyond there. He could barely control himself around Lance as it was but a lovey-dovey Lance who only wanted attention…

Keith shook the notion out of his head. 

Lance raised a skeptic eyebrow. “Look I know I’m the one that got bit by an insane bug but are you alright?”

Keith swallowed harshly, his throat dry. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Totally fine. Nothing to worry about.” He tried to feign calmness. 

It didn’t work. 

“Aww, are you worried about me?” Lance cooed. Keith pursed his lips, changing the subject to something easier. 

As the two red suns of Alberia set along the distant horizon, Keith and Lance came to relax along a grove of trees. Lance had eventually slowed his talking, the infection now reaching through his fingertips giving him a strange purple glow. Keith tried to mask his nervousness like Lance would have done and tried-- albeit lamely-- to talk in the same vein. He talked about their time in the castle and explained to a very curious Lance his hair routine (he was extremely disappointed to hear it was simply water). He brushed on his time in the desert, secluded from the rest of the world as he tried desperately to discover the meaning of his impulses. Eventually Keith let down his guard ever so slightly, reaching the moment where they met again on that dry night when Shiro came crashing down from space. 

“Alright you can’t tell anyone this but…” Keith sighed, not believing he was even talking about this in the first place. “I remember you from the Garrison.”

Lance’s eyes illuminated violet, a sort of giddy laugh escaping his lips. “I knew it mullet! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Don’t get too happy about it you dork. And besides did you really think I didn’t remember you? I sat right in front of you during Professor Montgomery’s class and you would always lean over to ask what the homework was.”

“Yeah and you never did it,” Lance argued. “You were number one in our class and everyday when I asked you, you’d just shrug and say you didn’t need to do it.”

Keith snorted. “Yeah who needs mechanical physics when you’re flying in a spacecraft? Montgomery was nice but boring. There was no need to do the homework.”

Lance let out a laugh, looking towards the trees. The sunsets were hitting him just perfectly, illuminating his skin a golden honey while his eyes shined like amethyst stones. His smile was radiant, as always, perfectly white and infectious.

Keith couldn’t rip himself away; he wanted to soak up this moment for the rest of his life. 

“Alright if we’re telling truths here…” Lance let out a heavy breath, “I remember our bonding moment.”

Keith gasped. He thought vaguely back to that battle, how Lance, despite being bruised and beaten, had opened up just enough to say they were a good team. He remembered how the purple lights were drifting over them as Lance fell into his arms, his breaths ragged and intermittent. He remembered the agony of waiting outside the healing pod, how desperately he wanted to see Lance again. He thought back then that they could have moved on from their silly rivalry but instead it came back in full swing, as if that night had never even existed. Keith was shattered.  
But after all of it, Lance had actually remembered. It was all Keith had ever asked for. 

“Why did you lie?” He asked softly. 

“If I’m being honest… I thought it was a dream. I thought that there was no way that you and I could have ever actually been a good team, so I just denied it. But after Shiro disappearing and the Lion switch… I realized that maybe you and I are just what this team needs. We are a good team, and I mean it.”

Lance met Keith’s eyes, blinking slowly and lazily. His grin was sincere and sweet, making Keith’s heart swell at the thought. 

Keith reached forward, slowly, bringing himself closer until- 

An ear-shattering roar erupted above them. They craned their necks to see Yellow, Green, and Blue descending into the forests, their pilots all full of giddy. 

Lance and Keith got up hastily, shaking away the remnants of their moment. The lions all came down, towering over the trees and settling nicely among the nature. 

Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Shiro all came out, followed by a few of the natives. They were incredibly large beings painted in pastels, all coming hastily to heal Lance. They surrounded him and began to give him remedies to take away the toxins. 

Keith trusted they would keep him safe and returned to the other Paladins along with one of the aliens. 

“You must be Red Paladin,” the large native said. He towered over them, at least 7 feet tall, his rough skin swirling with blue designs and dark geometric tattoos. “I am Wasti. Thank you for helping our planet.”

Keith shook his hand, Wasti’s grip incredibly strong. “No problem. I wish we could have done more instead of being trapped in the middle of the forest.”

“Consider it not an issue,” Wasti nodded. “Those bitten by Amorant are often a liability and can prevent one from their duties. I hope Blue Paladin was not too… affectionate.”

The rest of the crew sniggered. 

“You poor, poor soul,” Hunk laughed. “Oh god I would hate to be in your position.”

Pidge shivered. “I would rather die than let Lance hit on me.”

“I can partially relate to what you have gone through and I give my deepest condolences,” Allura smiled. 

“Come on, knock it off,” Shiro instructed. “But I am dying to know which pick up lines he used.”

The four of them let out a collective giggle as Keith rolled his eyes. 

Shiro shook out his laughter. “In all seriousness, are you okay Keith?

Keith shrugged. “I mean to be honest I really didn’t see a difference in his attitude.”

“What do you mean you didn’t see a difference?” Pidge questioned. “Wasn’t Lance supposed to be all in love with you or whatever? That was some prime material!”

“I mean he turned partially purple if that helps any. I don’t know maybe it didn’t kick in or something. Or maybe he was just so opposed to liking me he forced himself not to.”

“Is that even possible?” Shiro asked Wasti. 

He simply let out a smile. “If no loving emotion surfaces it simply means there is no more love to be amplified, even if he is unaware of the feeling.”

Hunk let out a breath. “Wait so are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

“Yes,” Wasti nodded. “The Blue one is in love with the Red one. His feelings of love could not be greater, even with the Amorant’s venom.”

Keith’s face began to burn. He wanted to vomit or stomp away or go throw himself off of a cliff. 

His day was really not going too well. 

The Paladins all gasped, none of them quite sure how to react. Keith didn’t know how to react. He had known for a long time that he was pining for Lance, but those emotions had been pushed way down over more important things like saving the universe. Keith didn’t have the time to worry about falling in love with Lance, let alone admit that he was in love with him. 

But the fact that Lance was in love with Keith as well? He just simply could not believe it. 

One of the caring natives came over, bowing before the Paladins. “The Blue one is healed now, but we have taken the memory away for safekeeping. Shall we do the same to you, Red one?”

Keith blinked, still trying to process everything. He could make out Lance now, sitting up and talking with the aliens who healed him, the purple finally draining from his body. 

He pursed his lips, letting out a breath. “Can you really take away my memory?” Keith asked slowly.

“If that is what you require, yes.” The native said. “These events can be traumatizing from every perspective, but they are humorous nonetheless.”

Shiro shook his head. “Keith, you can’t erase what happened. 

“Why not?” He countered. “I don’t deserve to know Lance’s feelings. None of you do either.”

“My feelings about what?”

Keith nearly jumped out of his own skin. 

Lance let out a yawn, his body slumped in on itself. “What happened? The lady said I got bit by a bug or something and then I passed out.”

“Yeah a lovebug,” Hunk teased. 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Lovebug? What the quiznak is that?”

“I think this is a discussion best for Keith,” Shiro commented. “Come on team.” He lead away the laughing Paladins, leaving the pair alone once more. 

“Lovebug?” Lance asked again. 

Keith swallowed harshly. “Yeah an Amorant. Basically it just makes you fall in love with the person you first see… and you first saw me.” 

Lance’s face turned a brilliant red. “Oh god…” he shivered. “Did I… did we… w-what happened?”

Keith let out a smirk. “Nothing. They said you were too emotional in the first place for anything to actually happen.” 

Lance scoffed. “The audacity, the nerve. How dare you accuse me of being emotional? I have literally never been emotional in my entire life. It was probably because the first person I saw was you and something inside me heavily rejected the idea of falling in love with you. I would never..” 

Lance continued on and on for what seemed like eternity, and for once Keith didn’t really mind the nervous chattering. It was all he could have ever asked for. 

He was still considering having his memory erased but in the end he decided those moments in the sunset were probably the closest he would ever get with Lance. Maybe one day he would tell Lance about the truth behind that Amorant, but in that instant Keith relished in Lance’s talking and decided his day could not have gone any better.


End file.
